I'm thinking of going to Wizard World this weekend to get some action figures autographed. Can someone recommend what the preferred pen I should pick up for this? Brand & where to buy?

Deoxyribonucleic

08-05-2003, 01:15 PM

the only 2 important things I know are 1. don't use a black sharpie because as time passes, it will turn a yellowy-orange color and 2. be very careful when using those silver and gold pens because sometimes they leak out all over whatever is being signed...I heard this at comic con this year from one of the comicbook artists a friend of mine was getting a sketch from and a signature. I think this happens near the end of the life of the pen, when most of the silver or gold liquid has been used up.

icatch9

08-05-2003, 01:28 PM

Sharpie makes a silver pen now that is just like all thier other sharpies. No liquid center like those paint pens. I've never gotten an autograph with it, but it worked great to write my cousins name on his black baseball glove. They are new so I don't know about the life span and if they change color over time. They can be found at Target in the school supply section for $0.97.

Hey, u156446 maybe I'll see you at WW, I'll be there too!

Jayspawn

08-05-2003, 01:29 PM

Whos autographs are you planning on getting u156446?

u156446

08-05-2003, 01:37 PM

Somewhat undecided right now. I've been to these things before, but never bothered with the lines. I have an extra EP1 Maul, so I'll probably at least get that signed, but I was possibly thinking of also getting one of my two Silver Fett's I hope to buy signed as well. Not too overwhelming, but I think I'm still struggling with the thought of have to shell out $15-$20 each for someone to write their name.

icatch9

08-05-2003, 02:35 PM

Well, last year the lines for Prouse, Bullock, and Meyhew weren't to bad at all. They were all there and none had a line. I think I went on Saturday last year too (in the late morning afternoon). Lou Firigno was there and he didn't have a line either. This was so funny to me becasue only a couple of months earlier people were waiting hours and hours at CII for an autograph, and at WW these guys couldn't give them away :). Funny. I'm not an autograph guy, and certainly not these "barely minor celeberties". Ray Park would be ok, but he's the most expensive one. Sean Astin would be ok too, but that's pushing it too.

The only auto I'd care to have is either George Lucas (of course) and James Earl Jones.

u156446

08-05-2003, 02:45 PM

I'm not an autograph person either, just that I thought it would be cool to have any extras I have on hand signed. I would'nt place any additional "value" on them, but once I can properly display my collection, some of these signed items might spice up the display a little.

Deoxyribonucleic

08-05-2003, 03:21 PM

At the comic con, Jeremy Bulloch hung out at the Paizo booth thurs - sunday and signed the silver fett figures right after you bought them for 10 dollars. If you wanted other stuff signed, he charged 20 dollars, so 10 wasn't too bad and I went ahead and did it...it looks real snazzy, the silver signature on the silver fett I think.

I'm not much of an autograph person either, but I thought "why not" since Jeremy is sitting right here :)

the "other" boba fett, that kid who played him in ep2 was signing too???? Um...no thanks!! :crazed:

u156446

08-05-2003, 03:27 PM

Caution - Potentially Dumb Question: Do you bring your own silver pen or do the autographers have them there? I figured if I can be directed to the right kind, better to have the right stuff with me.

sith_killer_99

08-05-2003, 06:41 PM

Jeremy had his own silver pen when I went to Gen Con. I brought over my Silver Fett and he broke out the silver pen whithout having to think twice.

I also had Kenny Baker sign my silver R2-D2, but I got his done in Gold, just to be different. lol

2-1B

08-06-2003, 03:01 AM

I'm a pretty big autograph hound and I SWEAR by those new Silver Sharpies. There's no other way to go, IMO. :)

Last year I got a pic signed by Bulloch with a silver gel/paint pen for my friend and I put it in a crappy plastic sleeve which the dishonorable Peter Mayhew sold to me for ONE DOLLAR :mad: (Ultra Pro makes a nice page which you can buy for 10-15 cents - and yes, I forgot to bring some :D ) so anyway I got a Fett pic and due to the heat by the time I got it home the paint from the pen had stuck to the cheap plastic and it looks crappy now.

Ask Jani Lane from Warrant how he likes those silver paint pens, I gave him one a few years back and it exploded all over my CD booklet and his palm. I have his palmprint on the CD booklet and several drips all over the place . . . oh well, it was only Warrant. :crazed: Honestly though, the problem there was that I gave the pen to Erik Turner first and told him I had it all primed. But he shook it up hard anyway. :rolleyes:

The same also happened one time when we got CDs signed by The Donnas. We used silver pens and my friend's (now ex-;))girlfriend shook it up after I told her not too. So those autographs are kinda crappy.

I gave Alice Cooper a gold pen awhile back to sign my CD box set and I PRAYED that it would work . . . thank god it did, it turned out quite nicely. :) I got lucky there and now that I have Sharpie on my side I will never risk it again.
So I'm all in favor of the Silver Sharpie and I hope they do a Gold version. :)

What's this about Black Sharpies changing color? :confused: I've never experienced that . . . yet . . . but I've got some old autographs and they look just fine. :)

Ummmmmmm yeah I have to agree about the cost of these things but since I only do these things twice a year I don't mind it, we have fun taking in the whole experience. However, I would like to see a little more thought put into who charges what for their autograph. Last year I paid Chewbacca and Darth Vader the same amount as I paid a guy who wore a Jawa costume. Sorry, that's not right. And THEN we got over to the other Star Wars booth where former intern Amy Allen was pulling the same $20 fee. I would allege collusion and price rigging by Philip Wise and that other guy at C2 Ventures but when you look at Ray Park and see that he's charging $5 more for an autograph you can see it's totally crazy. :crazed:

As much as I like doing this goofy autograph stuff, I have to say my 3 favorites are ones I got for free!
Mike Quinn (Nien Nunb and AOTC animator) sent me a free signed 8x10 of Nien Nunb and all I did was send him an email. :) I sent fan letters to Frank Oz and Jimmy Smits and got a nice personalized headshot of Frank Oz and a beautiful personalized pic of Bail Organa.

Oh yeah, if you have them then I certainly recommend you bring them just to be safe. We hit a show a few months ago, my first attempts with the silver sharpies. We got there and found that just about everybody (celebrities) already had those silver sharpies ready to go so I didn't even use mine. Still, it would be a safe bet to pick up a few and keep them handy. :)

Have fun and good luck u156446 !

Same to you icatch9 - and by the way, how funny is it to see Lou Ferrigno handling all of his own autograph money? :D Some people have their own assistants but it's really funny when it goes straight from your hand into his or her wallet. Virgil the old wreslter had a booth right next to Lou, he didn't seem to be doing much business . . . but he's back this year too so it must be worth a few bucks for him to come.

icatch9

08-06-2003, 08:03 AM

Just seeing Lou Friginbig in person is just funny. He's huge. I never realized his size on TV. I figured he'd be as wide as a house, but he's like 6'7". That cash is going right into his gym shorts, why not? Would you mess with him? No need to pay some dork assistant to handle that.

I think that Jawa dude was over charing. Isn't it rumored that he wasn't even in the movie? As far as Amy Allen, your paying $20 to talk to a simi-hot chick who just happened to be in a Star Wars movie. Frankly, I'd rath pay $20 to talk to the other Twilik chick from the outlander bar in AOTC. She's much better looking :D.

u156446

08-06-2003, 12:49 PM

Just picked up a Sharpie Silver pen 2-pack at WM for $1.86.

Deoxyribonucleic

08-06-2003, 06:15 PM

What's this about Black Sharpies changing color? :confused: I've never experienced that . . . yet . . . but I've got some old autographs and they look just fine. :)

I guess the hub bub is that over a period of 3 years or so, if signed on glossy surfaces such as action figure bubbles, the black sharpy turns a yellow color...my friend found this out at comic con as well...myself, I've no clue. :confused: :crazed: :)

Thanks for the clarification on that sharpie/plastic bubble issue . . . that TOTALLY makes sense, I wouldn't be surprised at all by it. Thankfully I have no blisters signed except for a Ray Park 12 inch Maul figure (signed in a funky cool red gel pen so it's not gonna be a problem) and then a Saga Vader signed by Prowse - but that was signed on the card so it should be fine. Prowse used a blue sharpie on that one . . .

:)

To the others who are heading to Wizard Chicago, be sure to stop by the Boneyard Press booth and get your picture with Ginger Hill and buy an autographed pic for $3 . . . it's uh . . . an experience. :D

Jayspawn

08-06-2003, 08:18 PM

There's a lot of your guys who don't know much about autographs. Celebrities at conventions almost ALWAYS have pens with them. If they're charging you- they will have a pen. Unfortunatly, its only in the last few years that Autographs have gotten a little out of hand with D-list celebrities charging as much as A or B.

Now I'll tell you a story about that Jawa. A year or so ago a 'last minute' Star Wars celebrity was added to the guest list of this convention I was at. They wouldn't say who and I got all excited. And as it turns out it was just a Jawa. I gave it some thought and decided to go check it our. I thought "It's only a Jawa, he won't be charging that much. Might be a cheap thrill." As it turns out when I got there, he was charging $20 for the autograph and an extra $10 for the 8x10 HE was selling. $30 for a Jawa autograph ?!?!?!?!I was crushed, and upset. Billy Dee Williams, who had a much major part and a big celebrity was less. Who does he think he is? The point is, the lesser-known Star Wars (an any celebrity) has no right to gouge people for a ton of money for their name. The actors who play extra noticable Jedi or Jawas don't mean much.

There are some celebrities who ARE worth the few extra bucks, because they are who they are. $30 for Ray Park or Sean Austin from Lord of the Rings is a good price. That much for any major cast member from LOTR or Star Wars is a good price. Austin for example is a good actor and a big LOTR fan. He doesn't charge too much and loves signing and meeting fans. Also, some actors do not sign very much and are more prestigious like Christopher Lee or Richardo Montalbon where you can expect to pay $80+ for theirs. Back to minor celebrities, Michael Quinn who I've never met before nor have his autograph yet, I've heard he's a great guy and charges little or nothing to get his. Those are the celebrities I enjoy meeting. They do not take anything little for more than it is like many of the Jedi from Episode II (I won't name the actors but they're Kit Fisto, Sasee Tiin, Alya Secura etc.)

I've been collecting autographs for a number of years and as a Star Wars fan have several from. An autograph from a Star Wars celebrity on a fantastic looking 8x10 is an awesome collectible. You can't get much better than that. As far as Star Wars goes, I'e picked up Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Richard LeParmitier, Jeremy Bulloch, Billy Dee Williams and Ewan McGregor. I couldn't be happier with them and I encourage Star Wars fans to do so also. They are much more collectible than action figures and much more personable. ;)

2-1B

08-06-2003, 09:24 PM

Jay, are you talking about Rusty Goffe? That's the Jawa I paid last year . . . my friend went nuts though because he also played an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka but since I don't like that movie I just got a pic of a Jawa . . . $20 for the pic and signature. What was I thinking? :(

Maybe I felt bad because they had him lined up with Chewie, Vader, and Fett? :confused:

Jayspawn

08-07-2003, 10:26 AM

That might be him- I don't remember too much because I was soo distraught over that autograph price.

To everyone else about Star Wars autographs:

- $20 is TOO MUCH for a Jawa autograph. The most they should charge is $10 (at the most).

- Daniel Logan (Little Boba Fett) is gonne be in Episode III, maybe a big part maybe a small part. I would get his- you never know.

Deoxyribonucleic

08-07-2003, 10:39 AM

whatever happened to the days when people just autographed for free...kinda like a "thank you" to the fans??

Jayspawn

08-07-2003, 10:43 AM

I hear that Deoxyribonucleic. I'd sign things for free and talk lots to people if I were a celebrity. Without fans, celebrities would be out of business wouldn't they.

jonthejedi

08-07-2003, 02:51 PM

Jayspawn...would love to see a scan of your Ewan McG. autograph...how did you get it?

Deoxyribonucleic

08-07-2003, 08:45 PM

I hear that Deoxyribonucleic. I'd sign things for free and talk lots to people if I were a celebrity. Without fans, celebrities would be out of business wouldn't they.

EXACTLY!! That's what I don't understand?? And I'd do the same thing too, sign for free, I mean what's the harm, obviously I have lots of money from being a movie and television star, even if I'm not at the tops like Halle Berry or someone like that, but I'd still sign for free, I mean it's just a few hours out of their life for some of them, really!!

:crazed:

20 dollars for a jawa or an ewok :rolleyes: Shooooooo, I'd rather have my best friend's signature than someone who sat in a damn suit that I couldn't even see for crying out loud!!

Ya know, I was going to get Mark Singer's auto ("V" the tv series, the Beast Master) but he wanted 20 bucks and so I "moved along, moved along!" And with that 20 bucks I got a full set of T2 FilmCardz and the T3 Preview Set, plus promo sets and box toppers for both movies...much more to my liking than a fricken old actor autograph on a cheap 8x10 glossy!! AHAHHAHAHAHHA! ;)

woops, am I ranting?? LOL

2-1B

08-07-2003, 09:15 PM

Jay, I was gonna snag Daniel Logan at Wizard Chicago but now he's off the list . . . maybe George called him out to Australia? :confused:

I hear ya on the Ewoks, too, but I hafta get Warwick Davis this weekend . . . he's in so many crazy movies! :crazed:

Deo, I just sent MArc Singer an autograph request in the mail . . . it looks like there's a good chance of success so I figured it was worth it. :)

There are several cool people who sign for free (like Frank Oz) so I figure it's well worth the postage of 60 cents there and 60 cents back. :)

I wish I was famous (or infamous :D ) for something - I'd love to sign ! ! !

u156446

08-08-2003, 09:26 PM

Ended up getting Jeremy Bulloch to sign a silver boba, and Peter Mayhew to sign a saga chewie. After standing in line for 15 minutes to enter the mini-bust raffle (a chance to BUY one of 25!!! busts - which I didn't win), and standing in line for nearly two hours to buy my silver boba's, I had to bug out of there quickly. Other than Ray Park, lines for autographs were really short. Jeremy seemed very personable (for his $15). Not complaining though, it will be a very nice item for my collection.